The English Matters for University Students. Practical and Theoretical Issues. Учебное пособие для студентов 2-3 курсов, обучающихся по направлению 45

Module 3. Looking For A Job

Paragraph 2. Для получения работы человек должен обладать знаниями и умениями, которые требуются для этой работы. Например: (3 examples). Человек может получить эти знания навыки разными способами, но в наши дни профессиональные навыки осваиваются молодыми людьми в учебных заведениях: колледжах, институтах, университетах.

Paragraph 3. В современном мире существует огромное множество занятий, которые могут стать для людей работой. (To continue the paragraph fill in the table).

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PART 1. THE PRACTICAL ISSUES

Paragraph 4. Возможно, каждая работа требует от человека каких-то особенных черт характера, но есть качества, которые приветствуются в лю-

бой работе (6–7 traits of character).

Paragraph 5. Write any ideas of your own dealing with the notion “job”

(3–4 sentences).

Paragraph 6. Write how people choose a job (3–4 sentences). Paragraph 7. Write how people find a job (3–4 sentences).

Paragraph 8. Write why people sometimes change a job (2–3 sentences).

Paragraph 9. Write what you know about the career prospects for young people graduating from your University/Faculty/Department. Write which jobs for them are perfect, good, not so good.

Paragraph 10. Describe “The Job of Your Dream”. Cover the following aspects: salary, location (city, country), some other qualifications of the job. (You may make a table. If you would prefer a text – 5–6 sentences).

WRITE THE CONCLUSION

A Revision Test

1. Insert the missing element: to look … a job (искать работу), to be good … smth (хорошо разбираться в чем-либо), to meet … new people (знакомиться с новыми людьми), …work (на работе), to be fed……(быть сытым по горло), to drop… … (вылететь с/из), to catch … (догнать по уровню), to apply mail …(отправить электронное сообщение куда-то), to find …(узнавать, выяс-

нять), to be late …the appointment (опоздать на встречу).

2. Write the words with the same roots, take in conideration their number in brackets:

To employ (3) environment To decide (2) energy

To educate (2) to prepare To apply (2) skill

To discriminate to repeat

3. Переведите слова и фразы

Нервная работа Обеспечить жильем и питанием Курорт Выплата по больничному Престижный Работать в команде Предложить Случайная подработка Что-то требуется Представиться

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Module 4. The Theatre

M OD U LE 4 . THE THEATRE

The Module contains the Sub-Topics:

–The unforgettable visit to the theatre

–Different types of actors

–Peculiar theatres of different countries

–Who can be called “a theatre buff”

–The history of the English theatre

–Famous playwrights and actors

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Places where dramatic art is performed: opera house, the Puppet theatre, Musical comedy theater, One-man show, amateur theatre, open-air theatre.

Elements of the interior: ticket office/pay box, the stalls, aisle, row, seat/seats upholstered in (with) velvet/velvet-covered seats, a chandelier, the “house” (figurative), gallery, circle, dress circle, box, stage scenery, to go back stage, curtain (to drop/draw), orchestra pit, lights, footlights, wings, make-up room/artist’s room, wardrobe department.

Smaller theatre items: Playbill / placard, poster; opera glass(es), cloakroom tag.

Theatre people: a play writer/playwright, a stage director/ stage manager, an actor/player, a lead actor/key actor, an understudy, a comedian/comic actor, a tragedian/tragic actor, a strolling actor/hoofer, a stagehand, a prompter, cast, new entrant, usher/ ticket collector, spectator, company, main characters, minor characters, setting-designer, conductor, sound effects person, theatregoer.

Miscellaneous: rotten show, “good ticket” (figurative), to give a performance, matinee, to put on a show, grease, to go back stage, flop, encore, to boo off the stage, Break a leg!, a dress rehearsal, a full house for the play, a ham.

Sub-Topic 1: The Unforgettable Visit to the Theatre TEXT 1. A Newly-Minted Theatergoer or the First Date

“Presently the lights went down; then the curtain rose upon a scene of eighteenth-century Paris at the time of the French Revolution. It was

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PART 1. THE PRACTICAL ISSUES

a melodrama full of hopeless love and heroic self-sacrifice, a play after

Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities”. When Martin Harvey, a famous actor, who played the leading part of Sydney Carton appeared on the stage,

Jean’s eyes were full of interest and delight. She was greatly impressed by pale, dark Carton and delicate, charming Lucie Manette, the girl he loved”

(1, c. 285).

…… … … …

“When at last the play came to its end there was a storm of applause and many curtain calls for Miss De Silva and Martin Harvey. Miss Jean Law, however, was too overcome to join in such a banal applause, her feelings were too deep for words. Only when we were in the street she whispered with shining eyes: “Oh, Robert, you can’t believe me how much I’ve enjoyed myself!” It was the first time she had used my Christian name”

(1, с. 285–286).

(After “Shannon’s Way” by A. Cronin)

The text from: the text-book “Практический курс английского языка». 1 курс / под ред. В. Д. Аракина/. М.: ВЛАДОС, 1999. – 544 с. –

С. 285–286.

Answer the questions:

1)Can we call Jean and Robert’s visit to the theatre “a date”?

2)What kind of play did the young people watch?

3)Who were the key-actors? What did they look like?

4)What proves that Mr. Shannon was a theater buff (theatre goer)?

5)Did the visit to the theatre make any contribution to the development of young people’s romantic relations?

6)What emotions did the performance stir in Jean’s soul?

Sub-Topic 2: Different Types of Actors

► FIND THE ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS OF THE RUSSIAN WORD

“АМПЛУА», FIND THE DEFINITION OF THIS WORD IN AN

EXPLANATORY DICTIONARY

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Module 4. The Theatre

Fill in the table:

Versatile actor

Find more interesting theatrical types – some of them would probably belong to different countries and other historical epochs.

Sub-Topic 3: Peculiar theatres of different countries TEXT 2. Traditional Japanese Kabuki Theater

The Japanese theater uses the ancient set of symbols having their roots in the old pagan rituals and ceremonies which can be hardly understood by European

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PART 1. THE PRACTICAL ISSUES

people without the special preparation. To begin with, the action, as a rule, is exaggerated, resembling the European genre of farce: the actors are speaking in a deliberately rough voice, with frightening intonation, make absurd faces, it is difficult for unprepared spectators to realize if the personages are glad or furious. Let’s learn a few peculiarities of Kabuki theater to understand it better.

An important place in it is occupied by the stage, which stands right in the middle of the hall in the classical theater, and now the stages in many theaters rotate, which makes the performance even more interesting. In front of the audience, the participants in the performance appear from a special structure – hanamiti, this means "flower trail." Hanamichi is a long platform, usually located to the left of the stage. Scenery items also participate in the formation of public perception of scenes. They are always hypertrophied small, compared with the natural size. This is the style of this genre. In comparison with smaller scenery the personages look more significant.

Often during the play from the "floor" or from the "heaven" new characters appear. These effects are achieved by using elevators, in the first case, tensioned wires – in the second. The Kabuki genre requires a special entrance of the actor on the stage. Traditionally, the pose language is used for this. A certain position of the body, hands, head, the actor from the first seconds shows the public the personage’s character.

The peculiar appearance of the actors as the basis of Kabuki. An important specific feature of the genre is the application of the original makeup. This happens as follows: Hair is collected in a bun with silk cloth. The face, neck and back of the head are covered with whitewash, so are the hands, wrists, feet. Next, a wig is put on, then a kimono. The next element of makeup is kumadori – applying specific, characteristic stripes to the face. It is the stripes that help to understand the emotions of the peronage and his status: who he is – a humanbeing, an animal or a supernatural creature. For male makeup, only kumadori is used. The color of the stripes on a white background is important here. So, red shades symbolize courage, strength, justice, devotion, honesty; violet-blue – anger, rage, the presence of otherworldly forces or hidden fear. The black lines on the face are a sign of magic or divinity. Sometimes the makeup changes during the play to emphasize the change of emotions.

In classical kabuki, only men act. Artists playing women are called onnagata. Their makeup is somewhat more complicated than the above-described.

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Module 4. The Theatre

Before a wig is put on the head, the skin in the corners of the eyes is tightened to smooth wrinkles.

Roles of actors. Tatiyaku is a wise, agile, powerful, attractive protagonist. Around this character is built the whole scenario. There are several types of Tatiyaku: aragoto – a fighter endowed with incredible strength; wagato – a lover with special beauty and sophistication; dzitsugoto – an honest man who demonstrates wisdom and stamina. Katakiyaku character has negative characteristics. He is an enemy of tatiyaku, as a rule. Types of katakiyaku: Jitsuaku is a villain, a vile and deceitful rogue; Kugeaku is an heir to a wealthy family who has gone astray and performs unseemly deeds; Iroaku is a pretty handsome man who seduces decent ladies. One of the main characters of any representation of the genre is onnat. This is a woman played by a representative of the stronger sex. The ladies in the play vary in character, age and social status.

The stereotypical Kabuki “female” parts are:

–a beautiful girl/a modest woman; she wears a long-sleeved kimono

–a noble young beauty; ressed in red

–a courtesan

–the merchant’s wife, submissive and meek

–a sly, evil lady, irresistible for men

–an old woman

–a middle-aged woman.

Answer the questions:

–What is farce? Why is Kabuki theatre similar to European farce?

–What’s the evident difference between Kabuki theatre and European theatre?

–Why do Kabuki scenery items tend to be small?

–What is the interesting mechanical peculiarity of Kabuki stage?

–What is the symbolism of stripes?

–What method makes male-actors playing female parts look more woman-like?

–What is the typical Kabuki protagonist like?

–What are the typical Kabuki secondary personages?

–What are the typical Kabuki female characters?

Use the words from the text in the appropriate contexts:

exaggerated, flower trail, take for granted, tensioned wires, rice flour, divinity, tightened, a representative of the stronger sex.

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PART 1. THE PRACTICAL ISSUES

PREPARE THE REPORTS:

1)Famous playwrights

2)Famous theatre actors

3)The oldest European/Russian theatres

4)The peculiarities of theatrical performances in different countries in different epochs

The Topics For Written Works:

1) The Unforgettable Visit to the Theatre

Cover the following issues:

– The interior and “parts” of a theatre

–The play

–The actors and their stage types

–The impressions of the spectator

2) I am a Theatre-Lover

Cover the following issues:

–The pre-history: when and how you became a theatre-lover, who influenced your taste.

–Which (well-known) theatres you visited in your city and in other big cities, in other countries. Which theatres you would like to visit.

–The magic of the theatre: what makes you feel fascinated by the theatre.

–Show that you are an expert who can assess and evaluate all the aspects of performances and actors’ playing. You can differentiate between different stage types; you are aware of personal matters of actors (their private life).

–What are your favourite genres? What famous Russian and foreign playwrights do you know?

–First nights, autographs (a collection), flowers.

Sub-Topic 4: The history of the English theatre

► Read and translate the text. Make the list of textual vocabulary, divide it into semantic groups: 1) “theatrical” vocabulary, 2) religious vocabulary,

3) general vocabulary ... (or some other groups)

TEXT 3. The History of English Drama

The first British medieval dramas were purely religious. The very first performance in England which could be considered as a drama “was a part of the

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PART 1. THE PRACTICAL ISSUES

simple and people were delighted to recognize their own everyday life presented on the stage. Many representatives of the nobility patronized actors and playwrights. A number of outstanding authors created their immortal works – the so called “University Wits” and the greatest genius W. Shakespeare.

One of the most popular Renaissance stage performances were The

Moralities. They were called so because they taught morals presenting “the allegorical abstractions of vices and virtues. Actors personified human qualities:

Truth, Compassion, Mercy, Sin, Justice” (5, c. 61) etc. The obligatory character in moralities was the devil presented in a comical way and usually his words and actions were a real laugh-riot. The most important contribution of moralities into the development of drama was the following: the authors started to present life as the ever-lasting contradiction between Good and Evil. The drama was gradually losing its being attached to the religious dogmatic traditions. The authors were becoming more and more independent and free in their interests: in their works they reflected on historical issues, tragic love, betrayal and other deep, thoughtprovoking problems.

How Theatres Were Arranged. The beginning of the performance was announced by trumpets, and crowds of spectators dropped all their affairs and hurried to the theatre spot. The first playhouse in London was built on the foundation of an old monastery, this place was traditionally associated in

Londoners’ minds with miracle plays. The first real theater-building was sponsored by James Burbage and was simply called "The Theatre" (a Greek word which was at that time borrowed from the Greek language). Soon other playhouses appeared – "The Rose", "The Curtain", "The Swan”. Playhouses were rented for a certain period by a company of actors (a troupe) or by their patron.

The Difficulties of Theatremen’s Life. Actors were often prosecuted as tramps because their job implied traveling from one town to another. Only a rich powerful patron could save actors from being put into prison and other prosecutions. All plays were checked by the special commission to expose criticizing the Church or the authorities. The most ferocious prosecutors of the theatre people were the Puritans who led a modest sober life and were highly religious. They claimed that acting was menacing people’s morality. As a result of severe prosecutions in the 16-th century most of the playhouses found themselves beyond the borderline “of London – all the theatres concentrated

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